By Match report: Town secure final-day victory at home to AFC Wimbledon
Grimsby Town edged out AFC Wimbledon on the final day of the League Two season this afternoon.
An early own goal by Isaac Ogundere was enough to earn the Mariners a 1-0 victory and a hard-fought three points at Blundell Park.
Paul Hurst made five changes from the side that lost at promoted Stevenage last week, with Josh Emmanuel, Shaun Pearson – making his final appearance for the club – Alex Hunt, Evan Khouri and Danilo Orsi all coming into the starting lineup.
After a relatively slow start to the game, the Mariners took the lead on seven minutes through an Ogundere own goal. Orsi picked up the ball on the touchline after making a good run in behind the visitors’ defence and, as he went to pull the ball back to a teammate, it took a hefty deflection off the defender and bounced in off the post.
A lovely ball in behind from Andy Smith saw Khouri look to go through on goal, but a last-ditch tackle from Ogundere prevented the midfielder from getting a shot away.
There was very little action up until the half-hour mark when Orsi did well to bring the ball out of the air on the edge of the box, with his instinctive half-volley well blocked by a defender before it could test Nathan Broome.
There was another lull in the game leading up to half-time, as Town managed to limit AFC Wimbledon to just one solitary shot off target, meaning neither side had an effort on target in the opening 45 minutes.
That changed just two minutes into the second half when the ball dropped nicely for Josh Davison to hit a left-footed half-volley from distance that Max Crocombe did well to push around the post for a corner.
The forward then had another opportunity on 55 minutes, as he picked up a loose ball outside of the area, shifted it onto his right foot and fired a low effort just wide of the goal.
On the hour mark, Hunt had an effort from distance following a bit of pressure from the hosts, but his low shot drifted comfortably wide of the post.
Pearson then made his way off the field on 65 minutes to be replaced by Otis Khan, with the whole of Blundell Park rising to clap him off the pitch to thank him for his years of service at the club.
The Mariners had a couple of excellent chances to extend the lead on 71 minutes following a good move down the left, as Lloyd saw his effort cleared off the line before Khouri’s follow-up was also blocked by a defender.
The Dons then had an opportunity down the other end, but Kasey McAteer could only send his shot straight at Crocombe, who kept it out comfortably to keep the hosts in the lead.
With the game livening up a little bit, Orsi would’ve hoped to have done better with his close-range header at the back post that went wide of the goal.
A good ball over the top from Gavan Holohan saw Khan latch onto the ball in a dangerous position before curling an effort towards the far post, forcing Broome into a smart save down to his right and then he pulled off an even better stop to somehow keep out Holohan’s fierce shot on the rebound.
Town then saw the remaining minutes out well to secure a final-day victory and make it three straight home wins in a row to cap off the season.
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